


When I Play, They Dance

by DragonSorceress



Category: League of Legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 11:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11252466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSorceress/pseuds/DragonSorceress
Summary: Where does the Maven of the Strings get her inspiration from?





	When I Play, They Dance

The first time Sona had used her etwahl to force people to dance had been quite by accident. It was shortly after she had been adopted by Lestara Buvelle, and well before she had discovered the full extent of her talents. In fact, it was only in retrospect that she realized what she had done. It was during one of the first parties that she had been invited to play at. Even at the time, she had already played a number of concerts, gaining a reputation as an incredibly moving musician. The night went well until almost the end. It had been during her last song of the night when things had gone somewhat awry. She had a natural sense of tempo, and it annoyed her when people couldn’t stay on beat with a song while dancing. Some of that must have called to the magic in her instrument, because as the song went on everyone drifted into step. She didn't notice it at first, as she had become wrapped up in an unfamiliar feeling as she played. Now, she knew it to be the power that she could call forth from the etwahl. It had so entranced her that she kept playing for a few minutes after the song was supposed to end, by which point the entire room was dancing in perfect time with the music and each other. She had thought little of it at the time, but over the next few days several people talked to her about feeling compelled to dance as she had played, describing almost identically a feeling of being guided by the music rather than their own volition, and rumors circulated of people almost collapsing from exhaustion She had known for a long time that hers was no mundane instrument, but she hadn't known she could call on its power with her music. It had been that incident which spurred her to figure out fully what she could use her etwahl to do, swearing to herself that she would never let her newfound abilities cause unintentional harm again.

Sona smiled softly as she recalled this. That had been several years ago, and a much more innocent time for her. She had known so little of the world, and of how awful people could be. Still, she thought, her nostalgic smile turning into a wry one, she had kept that promise. After all, the harm she was causing the man who thought it would be a good idea to cross her was very much on purpose. To most of the world, this man was a fairly popular music critic whose opinions and reviews were well respected. Those as established in the music world as Sona was knew better. He was known to use his reputation to extort his way into special treatment. She had thought that he was smart enough not to try that kind of thing with her, but clearly she had been wrong. He had been bothering her after her recent performances, which had been annoying but ultimately not noteworthy. It had been when he had staged an ambush outside her dressing room that he had invoked her wrath. He demanded that she play some private event for him, shoving some crumbled sheet music at her. It was, apparently, something he had made himself to impress a woman he was interested in, and even a cursory glance told Sona how bad it would be. Unwilling to play such an amateurish piece, she had given him a firm no. Outraged at her refusal, he had threatened to use his influence to hamper her career. She knew that it wasn’t an idle one and that he had done it before. In his anger, he didn't notice the change that came over her. The normally calm and friendly facade dissolved into something much colder and more dangerous. He hadn't even noticed her move towards the etwahl. His first inkling that something was wrong came only when she started to play. By then, it was far too late. He was unconscious within seconds.

That had been several hours ago. It had been a simple task to sneak him out of the city and to the rocky valley that she had chosen to be the stage for this particular performance. Here, no one would be able to interrupt her. As she played, Sona watched the man’s involuntary dance. Middle-aged and not in the best physical condition, she was a little surprised that he had lasted this long. Still, he was starting to wear out. Sweat ran down his face as he begged for her to let him stop. Her response was to add some flourishes to her song, and so his dance. “I’m sorry,” he pleaded between heavy breaths, “I didn't mean it.” A cross expression took over Sona’s face and streams of blue energy flew towards the man, cutting him deeply in several places. The tone in his voice was one of appeasement, not true apology. It was not surprising from someone like him, though. Blood dripped from the cuts, creating strange patterns as it fell to the ground. Intrigued, she altered her playing to what effect it might have.

After a while, her playing slowed to a stop. Stretching her hands, she knew would need to wrap this up soon if she wanted to be at her best for her concert the next day. As soon as she had stopped, the man had fallen against a tall rock. “Th… thank you,” he panted, trying to catch his breath, “For le… Letting me… S- Stop.” Sona looked back up at him, tilting her head to the side. He thought that he was done? A cruel light gleamed in her eyes as her lips parted into a smile. She threw her head back and her shoulders shook in silent imitation of laughter. The man saw this, and a chill ran down his spine. He started to run, but even under better circumstances he would not have been fast enough. With a new fervor, Sona played. Sharp notes cut deeply. He danced, limbs shaking with fatigue, and a vivid scarlet splashed over the stones, painting them with intricate designs. It wasn't much longer until he crumpled to the ground, dead from exhaustion. While in the moment she had been more focused on how the blood had been falling, the music that had accompanied it still echoed in her mind. It had been… Different. Not bad, though. It would need some polish, but she could make it work. Sona smiled. This was exactly what she had needed for tomorrow. She would need to get to work right away.

As she turned to leave, she stopped next to the other person had brought out here. This man she knew much less about. She didn’t even really know who he was, other than some loudmouthed Noxian. His nationality wasn’t the reason he was here, though. She didn’t have the same animosity others did. No, he had simply been someone foolish enough to disrupt one of her concerts. That might not have been a sin worthy of this, had that particular concert not been the first performance of her newest piece, something considered by many in her business to be a sign of bad luck. Sona wasn't particularly superstitious herself, but a number of concert hall owners were. The one here had even called off a few of her scheduled performances rather than risk her playing a potentially cursed piece. She’d had to quickly concoct something new to play for the remainder of the tour, or else risk it being cancelled entirely. It would have merely been inconvenient, had she not written the original piece specifically for _this_ tour. She couldn’t just use it again for something else. It wouldn’t work. Just like that, days of work were thoughtlessly rendered pointless. So, when she had seen him stumbling drunk out of a tavern, she had praised her good fortunes. It had surprised her how easy it was to lure him away from the possibility of help, and she had suspected some subterfuge that never came. He had probably thought that she could pose no possible threat to him. Even now, bound and completely lost, he showed no hint of fear. That arrogance would be his downfall, as it had been of so many others. Such a preventable fate. With a resigned smile, she bent down to untie the gag that had kept him silent. “Let me go!” he demanded, “Right now!” As if he were in control of the situation. Sona shook her head, amused. He was fiery, she would give him that. Hopefully, that meant he would last longer than her previous plaything. Retrieving a bag, she pulled out a small box of food, placing it just within his reach. Next to it, a bowl of water. It would be a couple of days before she could come back out, and where was the fun if he was too weak to dance by then? “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Even if she had been able to respond, she wouldn’t have. He would understand soon enough. She turned to go, leaving him to yell after her futilely. Her attention was on the music she needed to prepare for the following day. Absentmindedly, her fingers twitched across the strings, a smile crossed her face. Her audience would love it, she knew, never suspecting that her music was the last moments of a person’s life.

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly inspired by this:  
> http://yanghuroda.deviantart.com/art/LeagueOfLegends-Sona-489206909
> 
> Also maybe a little by Jhin.  
> (Jhin: "Your music lacks the cruelty of a masterpiece."  
> Sona: >>O Rly?<<)
> 
> And definitely a bit by being a bitter support main.


End file.
